


gimme shelter

by wearealltalesintheend



Series: Tumblr Prompts [7]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Family Bonding, Fluff, Gen, Humor, ben is a terrible babysitter, i dont know sometime after the apocalypse is averted, klaus hargreeves adopts a pet, luther is predictably awkward about it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-18
Updated: 2019-03-18
Packaged: 2019-11-24 01:52:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18159923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wearealltalesintheend/pseuds/wearealltalesintheend
Summary: Klaus skids to a stop in front of Luther’s room, nearly colliding with the wall. He didn’t really have to run all the way from the end of the hall like this, but he felt it carried the appropriate amount of urgency for the situation.“Have you seen Diego?” He asks, panting, and leans against the doorway to catch his breath. Behind him, Ben arrives walking calmly.Luther, who had been clearly only pretending to read and actually nodding off, looks up, closing his book and sitting up in bed. “He left with Five an hour ago, why?”“Oh, nothing. Okay, okay, that’s fine,” Klaus drums his fingers in the wood, starts picking at the chipped paint there. “Have you seen Allison, then?Now, Luther is frowning suspiciously. “Yes. She left with Vanya to have brunch.”Well shit..or, the one where Klaus adopts a pet, everyone is out, and Ben can't be trusted to look after a small animal on his ownbased on the prompt:Klaus and Luther bonding!





	gimme shelter

Klaus skids to a stop in front of Luther’s room, nearly colliding with the wall. He didn’t really have to run all the way from the end of the hall like this, but he felt it carried the appropriate amount of urgency for the situation.

 

“Have you seen Diego?” He asks, panting, and leans against the doorway to catch his breath. Behind him, Ben arrives walking calmly.

 

Luther, who had been clearly only pretending to read and actually nodding off, looks up, closing his book and sitting up in bed. “He left with Five an hour ago, why?”

 

“Oh, nothing. Okay, okay, that’s fine,” Klaus drums his fingers in the wood, starts picking at the chipped paint there. “Have you seen Allison, then?”

 

Now, Luther is frowning suspiciously. “Yes. She left with Vanya to have brunch.”

 

_ Well shit.  _ “Cool, cool, cool,” he says under his breath. This certainly complicates things. Klaus needs to go buy some real food soon, she can’t live off milk forever, and she will start kicking up a fuss, making even more of a mess, but if he can’t find a real,  _ corporeal _ babysitter–  _ which reminds him,  _ “I told you to keep an eye on her!” He hisses at Ben, who’s lounging against the railing.

 

“She’s tiny, she’s fine,” Ben waves him off, craning his neck to try and see inside Klaus’ room, “besides, what was I supposed to do? Phase through her until she gives up?”

 

“No, you were supposed to call me if she did something. What if she falls off the bed?”

 

“Oh, she did that as soon as you left, but she landed on an old shirt and went right back to her nap, so it’s fine.”

 

Before Klaus could tell Ben exactly what he thinks of his babysitting style, Luther cuts in, frowning impossibly deeper, “who’s  _ she?” _

 

“No one? Just talking to myself, really,” Klaus coughs, slowly backing away like that would discourage him from following, “nothing is happening, you should go back to your book, it sounds like a real page-turner!”

 

But a crashing sound echoes from his bedroom and Klaus trades a wide-eyed look with Ben.  _ Shit.  _ This is why they need a real babysitter. 

 

They take off running.

 

So much for not raising suspicious.

 

“Oh, thank god,” he exhales in relief at the sight of his lamp broken on the floor and the fairy lights tangled terribly, half off the wall.  _ This  _ he can fix later. “She just climbed back up the bed.”

 

_ “Who climbed up what?” _

 

Klaus whirls around to predictably find Luther standing behind him in the hall, arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed in the way that means he’s not gonna let this one go. Yeah, Klaus is in for a lecture alright. 

 

“Okay, before you say anything,” Klaus says, blocking the view of his bedroom as best as he can, “you have to promise not to yell. She’s scared of loud noises.”

 

“Klaus, who is–  _ is that a cat?” _

 

His voice raises along with the question and in his defense, Luther does wince apologetically, hunching his shoulders like that is going to help the sound not to carry as loudly. Klaus takes pity on him, scooping up the tiny kitten playing with the lights from his bed. “Yup,” he holds her up at eye-level and she meows indignantly at the disturbance. It’s the cutest shit he’s ever seen. “This is Katze. Say hello.”

 

“Hello,” Luther echoes awkwardly, looking down at her, and Katze twitches her ears, blinking up curiously at him. “What–  _ where–  _ how–  _ why do you have a cat? _ ”

 

“I found her three days ago in the alley outside,” he says, thinking back at her sad, quiet crying beside the dumpster, just loud enough to catch his attention when he had been sitting in the fire escape with Ben. “I think someone abandoned her just ‘cause she’s half blind.”

 

He gestures her left eye, blueish and unseeing, and Luther’s face immediately falls. “But that’s not her fault, though,” he says and Klaus wholeheartedly agrees.

 

“It’s really not. I mean, she makes a mess sometimes,” they both glance at the shattered lamp on the floor, the tangled lights, the nest of shirts by the bed. “But she’s trying her best.”

 

The kitten paws at Klaus’ hands, sniffing in Luther’s direction and Luther reaches a cautious hand, letting her lick his thumb, push her head against his palm. “Is this why you were looking for Diego and Allison?”

 

“Yeah. I need to go buy cat stuff but someone needs to babysit her. Ben is not a very good catsitter, he lets her do anything she wants.”

 

“And he’s a ghost.”

 

“See? Not a very good candidate.”

 

“Why didn’t you ask  _ me _ ?” Luther frowns, looking so very  _ sad  _ and offended in the doorway that Klaus honestly feels guilty.

 

“Well,” he grimaces, trying to remember why keeping the kitten a secret had seemed like a good idea at the time. “I figured you would take one look at this mess and make me cease and desist. I didn’t want to risk Katze going back to the streets.”

 

“I see,” Luther says quietly, apparently processing the information. He can’t blame Klaus for thinking he would go all Number One on him about this, what with how Dad never let them have any pets when they were kids and how Luther isn’t very good at shaking off his orders, even now. “I understand, really. But I wouldn’t do that– she needs help. I’ll always help,” he amends after Klaus gives him a  _ look.  _ “I’m  _ trying  _ to always help.”

 

Klaus stays silent for a long moment, looking down at Katze on his hands. Then, “do you want to come with me to the Pet Shop?”

 

“Huh, now? I mean, I thought you needed someone to watch her?”

 

“Yeah, but Ben was saying earlier we should take her to the vet, you know? Since she was on the streets and all,” he shrugs, careful not to dislodge the kitten. “So, do you wanna come with?”

 

Luther clears his throat, still a little taken off guard. “Okay, I suppose I can carry the bags on the way back.”

 

“Nah, I have a better idea,” Klaus grins delightedly, gently plopping Katze on Luther’s hand. She blinks at him, then settles back down, meowing contently. Luther stares down at her as if she might spontaneously burst into pieces, like she’s made of glass. “Here you go, big guy. You carry her. I’ll be in charge of finding the nearest clinic.”

 

And with that, Ben stands up from the bed, snorts. “We are _so_ going to get lost.”

 

Klaus shushes him, already pulling up Google Maps on his phone and ushering a wide-eyed Luther out of the room. This is going to go great, they’ll be back before the others even notice they were gone, and anyway, what’s the fun in having a giant ass house if you can’t fill it with pets?

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> hey, you can send me prompts or come cry about this show on [my tumblr.](https://rad-hoodd.tumblr.com)
> 
> and hey? Thanks.


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